On Friday the infusion nurse came and refilled my pump and raised the amount of medicine that is constantly going through that system.  Another nurse came out to unclogged my port so I could start using it again for IV pain medication. It turns out my port wasn’t actually clogged as we had thought a few weeks ago so it was a very quick visit.

Fast forward 2 days and my pain still isn’t under control. We tried taking a different oral medication for breakthrough pain but nothing was making much of a difference. My nurse called yesterday to see if I was OK with switching over to IV meds tomorrow (which is today – Thursday). I knew IV pain medication was likely in the future but this was all changing so fast. Since the oral medication was simply not doing the job anymore, the transition to IV seemed like a good idea. I paused and looked at Tom,  paused again, and said yes. 

My nurse came today and accessed my port, transitioning me to an IV Dilaudid. This will take the place of both the Fentanyl patches and the Oxycodone.  It will take a few days of adjustment but the hospice team feels this is the best path forward for managing my pain. Hopefully I will be able to transition without some of the complications I had in the past.

I lost my balance and fell the other night.  I have a few bruises,  but am ok other than that. I’m not stable enough to walk with only a cane any more but I’m using my walker and that seems to be okay for now.